RC Stryker Maiden Flight
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007With winds gusting to 15mph, I took my new R/C plane, the Stryker, out for its maiden flight. If you’ve been following the build log (part 1 and part 2), you already know that it’s outfitted with a Tower Pro 2409-12 motor, a Blue Arrow 30A ESC, an 8-cell NiMH battery (9.6V), and a 7×6 slow flyer prop. The maiden results are in:
- Flights: 3
- Aileron Rolls: 2
- Split S’s: 1 (accidental)
- Immelmans: 1
- Landings: 3
- Crashes: 0
I am very pleased with the results. The plane flies fast and responsive. Only a few clicks of right trim were needed on takeoff for level flight. The glide ratio is exactly perfect for slow, controlled, short runway landings. I am very impressed with this plane. Even with my wimpy 8-cell NiMH battery, it seems to fly around 50mph in the flats. I think when I go to LiPo, it’ll be closer to 70mph. The final speed upgrade will be a 7×7 prop, and that should put me right at 80mph. Wow.
Here’s a video of the takeoff (you can tell how windy it is by my hair blowing straight up and back):
Here’s a video of some aerobatics during the first flight. It starts with the first roll this plane has even performed, which turned into more of a Split-S since the ailerons were on low rates (50% travel):











